"Tastefully South Jersey" at Perkins Center For The Arts

Well, maybe not EVERY day but, while researching for JerseyArts.com features, I regularly learn something new.

For example, I have known about Perkins Center for the Arts for a very long time. I’ve been to many exhibitions, participated in classes, and enjoyed several of the DeCafe Concerts over the years.

But, prior to talking with Perkins’ Associate Director Diane Felcyn and Folklife Center Director, Karen Abdul-Malik (better known to many as Queen Nur), I had no idea that Perkins has a Folklife Center.

The mission of the Perkins Folklife Center, established in 2010, is to identify authentic folk and traditional ethnic ways of being, creating, and living in South Jersey.

“We’re looking for what is unique to us, what no one else has,” Felcyn said, “and sometimes those things are directly associated with ethnic identity.”

“These people are the culture keepers,” Felcyn said.

To share these significant discoveries and connections more broadly, the Folklife Center has the opportunity every other year to curate the Perkins summer exhibition.

Described on the art center web site as “An exploration of food traditions from Caribbean, Eastern European, West African, African-American Southern and Latino cultures and how they are sustained in our communities,” “Tastefully South Jersey” brings together eleven fine artists showing works inspired by food with a group of food artisans from Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester Counties who share their cultural traditions and experiences around food.

Abdul-Malik provided a bit of background on the Folklife Center and the beginnings of the “Tastefully South Jersey” project.

“Tom Carroll was the Director of the Folklife Center when it began, and he did extensive field work at that time to find the culture keepers in the area,” Abdul-Malik said. “So, when we conceived of the idea for this project, we followed up with many of those people.”

The objective of the project was clear – to identify and then highlight an element that is common across the region and its residents.

“We were looking at what brings people together,” Abdul-Malik said, “and how we could see and appreciate our similarities and our differences.”

And they discovered that a significant shared element is food.

“Food is the connector,” she said. “Each food culture has its treasures and traditions. It is a primary part of everyday life.”

This universality also comes through in the exhibition artworks.

“The fine arts also speak to the cross-cultural connections,” Abdul-Malik noted “As with food, each artist and culture can show how they use the ingredients.”

“People are surprised by this level of richness and community,” she said, “and appreciate being able to see the work of cultural artisans and visual artists in the same place.”

Last Saturday, my son and I spent a couple of hours at the “Taste of Poland and Turkey” event. The artwork is wonderful, the food-tasting was a real treat, and the Polish folk-dance troupe put on a colorful and energetic performance and created an interactive experience by encouraging audience members to join in. And, as we were leaving, we had a fascinating conversation with one of the food artisans, Serife Ayakta from Turkey, who settled in South Jersey and, until recently, ran Star Manti, a small Turkish restaurant in Delran (which, surprisingly to me, has a strong Turkish community.) And, our first-hand experience reflected what Abdul-Malik had told me about.

At its heart, “Tastefully South Jersey” speaks most powerfully to what brings people together, not what divides them.

About the author: Shen’s been a Jersey girl for most of her life, other than living for a three-year stretch in Portland, Oregon, and six magical months in Tokyo. Shen loves the arts in all of its various forms – from the beauty of a perfectly-placed base hit to the raw energy of rock 'n' roll – and has successfully passed on this appreciation to her three grown children. Shen’s most recent jobs include WXPN (1993-2001) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2003-present). Shen also has been a working freelancer for 25 years, and operated her own frame shop in Mt. Holly in the late-70s.

Content provided by Discover Jersey Arts, a project of the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

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